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Ore Collector
Ore Collector is a term for a support unit able to gather ore and transport it to a faction's Ore Refinery. Each faction has its own Ore Collector with unique abilities. Allied Prospector "Collecting ore is all right!" :- Prospector Operator Tactical Analysis * Easy does it: A single Prospector is included in the cost of an Allied Ore Refinery, and will immediately begin gathering resources from the nearest Ore Mine. One Prospector is designed to efficiently gather from a single source, so it simply needs to be defended as it goes about its gathering route. * On-demand Command Hub: Each Prospector is also outfitted to convert into an Allied Command Hub when the need arises (though the conversion is irreversibly complex). Command Hubs provide new clearance level for other Allied structures to be built nearby, and also relay other important data to those structures. * Amphibious resourcing: Prospectors can traverse land and water with equal ease, because of their automated aqua-sensitive air cushions. Their driving characteristics are similar on all terrain types, apart from large hills and very rough seas. * Unarmed but not defenceless: When threatened by Soviet Conscripts or other raiding parties operating on foot, Allied Prospector drivers have been known to drive straight through the danger. Running down enemy combatants is strongly discouraged by Allied publicists. Operational History The vehicle Allied citizens know as the Prospector is basically just a well-put-together material supply truck suitable for the collection and transportation of raw resources. Even if it does convert into a military Command Hub, the Prospector is close cousins with civilian trucks, and like most civilian trucks, carries no defences whatsoever. Because of this unassuming nature, the Allies continue to express concern and dismay that Prospectors now appear to be priority targets for Soviet forces. It wasn't always this way. Originally designed as industrial pick-ups, Prospectors gradually became more important to Allied field posts and strategic holds. Soon enough, these vehicles began to see action on the front, in the midst of conflict with Soviet forces. Prospectors, of course, are used mostly for collecting Ore quickly and efficiently. Some yet argue that the war between the Soviet Union and Allied Nations is not about ideology but rather about ore. However, this is an unpopular stance due to three compelling facts about the world's premier resource for military-industrial manufacturing. One: Ore has always been fairly abundant in virtually all developed nations of the world, from Switzerland to Japan, and from Greece to Iceland. Indeed, even the middle of the sea offers its own fair supply of ore. Two: Ore is a natural, renewable resource. The thought of fighting over control of this substance is just as unimaginable as, say, the thought of fighting over sunlight, or drinking water, or radio-waves. And three: Ore just isn't a concern to the people of the world. Year after year, public poll after public poll, Ore proves itself time and again to be little more than an afterthought in people's perception of the world's top issues. The Well-Refined Ore Corporation, a large Buffalo-based corporation that offers vertically-integrated ore refinement solutions and originally invented the Prospector, has a company motto that's very to-the-point: "Ore: Don't Even Worry about It." Nevertheless, as tensions rose between the Soviet Union and Allied nations, their top providers of military goods increasingly sought out greater supplies of ore so that their production could continue unabated. And because ore is not so common that it may be found just sprinkled around on the ground, the Soviets and the Allies began to explore new ways to gather up the stuff directly from dormant mines. This was around the time when the Allies retrofitted their Prospectors with magnetically-sealed cargo bins as well as with amphibious capability, plus military-grade components for their communications arrays. In retrospect, these changes may have coincided with the Soviets' increased aggression toward Prospectors. In spite of the increasing danger and undeniable monotony of operating an Allied Prospector, drivers of these vehicles are known for their cheerful demeanour and customer-friendly attitude toward their work. This may be in part because the Allies pay these labourers well, likely because Prospectors ultimately are the key to letting the Allies manufacture new equipment in the field. Quotes Just the Stats Confederate Transport Truck "I collect ore and ore accessories" :- Transport Truck Tactical Analysis *'Collecting ore and more': The most obvious function of the Transport Truck is to transport ore from the ore node to the refinery. Amphibious pontoons allow it to get to those ore nodes located out in the sea. *'We can help out': However, collecting ore is only one of this vehicle's functions. It can assist artillery pieces in loading, and salvage useful material from the wrecks of destroyed vehicles. *'Inclusive of transportation': True to its name, each and every Transport Truck can also serve as a transport for several infantry. *'Limited cargo space': One should take note of the fact that Transport Trucks can only carry half the load of other collectors, due to their multiple roles. Operational History When the Confederacy finally reached the stage where they considered themselves a full-blown army, they realized one thing; Where will our parts come from? Recycling can only go so far, and no-one can recycle spent supplies. So, for once, they took an idea from the Allied Nations, and the other armies of the world and designed a Refinery. Then the only question was, what were they going to do for Ore Collectors? It had been originally planned to use outfitted Ranger Scout Cars, but they were just too small. The solution was found by a Confederate holidaying in South West Germany. Whilst on an excursion to the Black Forest, he noticed a compound in which about 50 vehicles were locked up, guarded by five Allied Reservists. When he asked what these vehicles were, the Germans replied that they had been used in WWII, but were no longer needed. The Germans, it seems, are just as adverse to throwing away old equipment as the Soviets. A phone call to some Confederacy members and a small raid later, and the Confederates had acquired a new Transport Truck, which was spacious, and reasonably fast. On top of that, the blueprints were found in one of the vehicle's glove boxes, which revealed that the truck was very easy to replicate. With a new Confederate paint job and some tinkering with the engine, it became perfect for the role, and then some. Transport Trucks can often be seen carrying infantry, supplies, or in some cases, Ranger Scout Cars. Quotes Soviet Ore Collector "And what about the collection?" :- Soviet ore collector Tactical Analysis *'Replace if damaged': Each Soviet ore refinery is assigned its own ore collector, which can normally go about its business without direct supervision. Should that vehicle become disabled for any reason, the refinery has enough spare parts to build another. Naturally, Soviet war factories and naval yards can also assemble additional ore collectors if needed. *'Reactive Armour': If attacked, ore collector drivers are wise to take advantage of their reactive armour, which envelops the vehicle in a thick metal coat. However, they are discouraged from using this defensive measure because it prevents them from fulfilling their primary responsibility of collecting ore. *'Steer clear': While lacking in weapons, ore collectors are not completely defenceless, and could crush a man careless enough to stand in their way. Ore collector drivers have been known to take advantage of this as a last resort, and some have even slain enemy combatants by accident in this fashion, while blindly trying to manoeuvre with their reactive armour engaged. *'Amphibious resourcing': Much like their cousins the Sputnik exploration vehicles, ore collectors may transition to an aquatic mode on contact with water at least one meter deep. Operational History The Soviet Union's nearly unaccountable military spending required the nation to rapidly fill its coffers with resources that could be directly applied to production. Therefore, fleets of vehicles known simply as Ore Collectors became a common sight in resource-rich areas. Some say the modern Ore Collector symbolizes many aspects of Soviet ideology (excluding an obsession with heavy ordnance). After all, each Ore Collector is dutifully assembled by loyal Soviet men and women from recycled parts taken from other Soviet vehicles expended in battle. In that sense, each Ore Collector represents the pride and indomitable steadfastness of the Soviet spirit, in spite of being relegated to the rather thankless and monotonous task of transferring volumes of Ore between mines and nearby refineries. One can barely begin to imagine the hodgepodge of spare parts from other vehicles used to assemble each ore collector. Their cockpits are based on the same bubble canopies used in flak towers and in Kazminov Design Bureau's own KDB-2 Bullfrog transports; their collapsible pontoons are taken from resold Sputnik exploration vehicles; their reactive armour coats are composed of sheeted alloys smelted from Hammer- and Apocalypse-class main battle tanks; their cargo bins are made from the recycled fuselages of downed MiG fighters, and so on. Each Ore Collector is machine-crafted with great care, and each collector's designated driver is given a framed, commemorative list of names and addresses of all the loyal soldiers whose vehicle parts were used to create that particular unit. Ironically, in spite of the rather conservative original design principle behind the Ore Collector, each one turns out to be fairly costly to manufacture, in part because of all the formality and ceremony around the respectful use of recycled vehicle parts. Collectors are unarmed to keep costs down and to meet the minimum standard for having civilian drivers--men committed to the Communist cause but, for various reasons, unable to fight on the front lines like their braver or more-self-sacrificing comrades. The Soviet Union created an expensive and elaborate publicity campaign that brought in collector drivers by the thousands from the swelling ranks of Soviet patriots, promising that volunteer drivers would not be incarcerated for thought-crimes against the Soviet leadership for not enlisting in military services. These drivers were assured their personal safety as well, due to the ore collector's ability to deploy full-body reactor armour plating that easily withstood 70mm tank shells during tests. Individuals particularly gifted in mathematics were given the cushiest ore-collection posts, where they could readily apply their skills to tabulating massive sums of the resources they themselves would bring in for the good of their countries. This gave these men some legitimate work to do on the job, in between occasionally having to defend themselves from Allied counteroffensives. One outspoken critic of the Soviet Union's military engagements once drafted an infamous 17-page paper entitled "On the Idiocy of Over-Dependence on Ore Collection", in which he lambasted the Union's strategy in using spare vehicle parts to create Ore Collector vehicles, as opposed to new military vehicles. He resolved to expose the connection between ore refinement and military production, but unfortunately died of "natural causes" before delivering on this promise. At any rate, Ore Collectors continue to be a fixture on Soviet front lines. Quotes Just the Stats Just the Stats Imperial Ore Collector "I'll collect the goods!" :- Imperial ore collector Tactical Analysis *'Getting the goods': The Imperial Ore Collector is quite obviously, an Ore Collector. It shuttles ore from from ore nodes back to its assigned Instant Processor, much like other Ore Collectors. *'Replacement available': If destroyed, the Ore Collector can be easily replaced, and can be constructed from no less than three buildings. *'We deliver anywhere': Like its counterparts, the Imperial Ore Collector is also amphibious, and is just as at home on water as on land. *'Beware of raiders': The Imperial Ore Collector can fend off any attackers, thanks to a weak machine gun. Due to the Ore Collector's design, it is forced to dump all of its ore upon switching to the machine gun. Operational History Ask any military official in the Imperial military where the Imperial Ore Collector came from, and chances are he won't say anything. However, unlike the Imperial MCV, Japan's ore collector was not reverse-engineered from the two warring counterparts. Instead, the Ore Collector was originally concieved and developed as an open-topped troop transport designed to ferry troops and equipment from one of the Japanese islands to another and back. The Shiro Sanitarium also used them extensively to navigate in the long, winding hallways faster than would be possible on foot. However, during combat trials to ascertain the vehicle's usefulness in combat, it was found to be lacking, especially when compared to other vehicles such as the Sudden Transport. It was quite slow, with limited all around armour and became quickly regarded as useless by Imperial commanders who preferred it more potent and aggressive units. It kept being a civilian transport for a while, as none wanted to deploy them on the field. When the war came, the military relooked their position, realising the potential usefulness of the vehicle as an ore collector; a niche that was desperately needed in the Imperial military. Jury-rigged with a fast firing machine gun to defend against raiders, it can stave off attackers long enough for help to arrive. Quotes Just the Stats Chinese Horse Ore Collector "Take me to the ore and let me drink." :- Horse Ore Collector Tactical Analysis *'Draft horse': The Horse serves the only purpose of getting ore into the Chinese Warmachine. It is specialized for that job, don't expect it to perform on the frontline. *'Warm blood': A hidden defence of the Horse is its very own Nuclear Core that can be lifted to emit dangerous radiation all around. It will also irradiate the area if destroyed. *'Dead horse': Manned by clones, it has a remarkable lack of general defensive features, relying solely on its planar shields for defence. Background Why does China need ore? This is a question posed by many scientists and commanders; after all, China's mechanical divisions are created by duplicators in orbit, and clones hardly need metal to create. However, there is a simple explaination behind all of this: the Law of Conservation of Mass. To create something, you need either mass, or energy to convert into mass. Although some incredibly high-end duplicators can do the latter, their expense, complexity and time of manufacture prohibit this. In fact, even these super high-end machines are restricted to creating elements up to hydrogen, or lithium if safeguards are ignored; the excess heat from this process can melt the duplicator in five seconds! Thus, China needs raw materials to duplicate its tanks, just like any other army, and asteroid mining can only go so far. The second reason is, surprisingly, soil. For soil to grow plants, certain minerals are required; minerals which can be synthesised from ore. In space, there is little other choice. Thus, ore is needed to feed the Chinese, and grow the biomass (food scraps) used to create clones. China resents this fact greatly; and the pilots of these collectors know it acutely. As it plays a key role in fueling China's war machine, it is also one of the few vehicles to be assembled in the field rather than being constructed in space and dropped down by elevator. Mediterranean Syndicate Sisyphus Transport Truck "Obstruction detected, please remove." :- Recorded response when Sisyphus is forced to slow down. Children in the Sprawls often stop a truck just to hear it. Background Most world powers, even the most otherworldy, follow the same pattern established in World War II of supplying the front. While much of the logistics of war are still done with trucks and trains transporting material from rear areas, advances in the areas of ore refinement promise to make war even more localised. Ore is collected from mines across the entire front and carried to buildings to be refined through a variety of means. The refined ore is in turn fed into SPAM modules (at least, in the case of the Allies), which produce ammunition, building materials, and various other expendables. In this way, armies can stay in the field for longer without support; MCVs can be dropped in the middle of enemy territory in this way with no other support than the men that can’t be made from ore. The Mediterranean Syndicate is the sole exception to this. Being manned primarily by mercenaries and private military contractors, the Syndicate’s military forces is completely self-contained by definition. Employers are not expected to provide supplies or support, but simply to pay the fee and watch the fireworks. Instead, the logistical support of individual mercenary units is without equal. This is possible due to the relative small sizes of units fielded; the Syndicate fields far fewer men than even the weakest military of any notable nation. Since the Syndicate mostly combats militias and warlords quite beneath their ability, this isn’t much of a problem, though the Syndicate is notably stockpiling supplies in Syndicate-owned warehouses and caches throughout the world. The Syndicate do not shy from taking ore from a region, however. Though instead of refining, they start demanding that the mines owned by the people of the region be signed over to them as payment for continuing action. Ore is collected from these mines and taken to the local Syndicate Headquarters, where it is further packaged and shipped to other Syndicate bodies either to sell or refine for their own industries. In return, the PMC is given further support with vehicles or construction work. While this whole process was once done with normal big rigs and heavy transports, the Syndicate recently engaged in a highly budgeted, multi-level project to synergize the whole process, which is anchored on a new automated truck. The Sisyphus Transport Truck is surprisingly small and vulnerable, which can be a hindrance when enemies raid their supply lines, but this has many advantages. For one, the Sisyphus is fairly cheap compared to such large vehicles like the Medusa, and many can be made for the cost of one Medusa, with geometrically improved carrying capacity. The real secret, however, is the array of Zero Point Energy emitters built around the cargo bay. In severe emergencies, the Sisyphus can be remote-ordered to use a moving mass to anchor the Sisyphus on, making it fly into the air and out of danger, where the lightness of the vehicle allows it to survive such a manoeuvre. The drawback of this process is the only thing that can provide such a mass is the ore the Sisyphus is carrying. Needless to say, the Syndicate loses immediate money on this, and it is generally believe someone is fired every time this is done. Medusa "Get out of my way!" :- Medusa Driver Tactical Analysis *'Big, bad and bigger': The Medusa is a heavy duty transport, capable of carrying three times the ore load of a normal collector and far better protected to boot. How it can cross water without sinking is a mystery the engineers of other powers are still trying to figure out. *'Armed and loaded': The Medusa's ten passengers can fire out in limited arcs, thanks to modular fire ports located around the vehicle. With the right passengers onboard, the Medusa can punch many times above its cost and handily deal with any threat. *'Built to last': The thick slabs of armour and huge wheels of the Medusa allow it to crush other vehicles with ease, while also providing excellent protection against hostiles attempting to destroy it. *'Stay where you are': With its massive weight, the Medusa is the perfect choice for a powerful Zero-point Energy gun, capable of freezing entire groups of targets and crushing them. Operational History The Medusa Superheavy Transport was a civilian transport in common use throughout the world before the Third World War broke out. However during the conflict, the Syndicate found excellent new customers at the front lines. The Allies needed the support of hundreds of these massive trucks in order to keep their war machine supplied. They also paid top dollar for it. The Soviets, on the other hand, found it far more beneficial to make sure these instruments of capitalism would never again support the bourgeoise. What resulted would become popularly known as the Franchise Wars. The Union's first attempts at stopping the Medusas were tragically inadequate, as a result of Zygmunt Tomaszewski, the Soviet officer assigned the mission, expecting the Medusas to stop at the sight of armed conscripts. Over thirty men died in the first incident, as a result of the driver being behind schedule. The second attempt was when Tomaszewski tried to hijack the Medusa using a Bullfrog's man cannon. Although three War Bears, two Conscripts, a Flak Trooper, and Zygmunt himself managed to safely land on the Medusa's roof, they were unable to get inside the cabin because they were too busy holding on for their lives. When the Medusa arrived at the forward operations base, the unloading crew were shocked to find a half dead Zygmunt begging them for a ladder. Zygmunt walked back to his camp, and continued his attempts to thwart the Medusa convoys. He assembled ten Rhino Tanks, three Twinblades, and six Sickles to intercept the next Medusa. This time the Medusa actually stopped. The driver got out, walked over to the blockade, and famously told Comrade Zygmunt to "Get out of my way!" Zygmunt laughed at the sight. A short fat man, roughly in his forties, was the cause of all his troubles. The driver angrily turned back, boarded his vehicle, and put on a polka record. He sang gleefully into the speakers. "Over the Rhinos and through the Sickles. To the airfield he would go. Nothing could stop him, only Jesus could save them, for the Medusa will only go!" All of the tanks were hilariously destroyed under the sheer weight of the Medusa's heavy treads. The Twinblades gave immediate chase to the Medusa, but they were unable to bring the beast to a halt. The driver simply laughed as the bullets and rockets shattered the earth around him. Conscripts, tanks, walls, and even a MiG Fighter or two were all crushed. The only reason the Medusa ended its reign of terror was so the driver could step out of the truck and ask Zygmunt for directions. After all, he has a schedule to upkeep. Later on in the conflict, an industrial Zero-point Energy gun would be added to peacefully incapacitate hostiles, while a security detail would guarantee the safety of the cargo. Neon signs were also added, at the requests of pedestrians, who needed to know whenever a Medusa was near. The safety of civilians has (retroactively) always been one of the corporation's primary goals. After all nobody would like to have to go to trial for accidentally hitting a crowd of nuns, panicking, backing over them, then shrugging to themselves and driving over the bodies. Not again. Category:Units